


Blue Feathers Against the Sky

by Spazzcat



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Archaeologist!Keith, Harpy!Lance, M/M, Major Character Injury, Sharing Body Heat, Some Cursing, inspired by littlecofieart's harpy!Lance pictures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:08:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25097395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spazzcat/pseuds/Spazzcat
Summary: In which Keith is an archaeologist who's just a little too reckless in pursuing his interest. Luckily for him, the thing in the desert legend says he should be most afraid of turns out to be on his side.(Or: Keith is stupid, Lance is helpful, and Shiro is going grey and it's all his little brother's fault.)
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 106





	Blue Feathers Against the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Oh look I'm not dead. 
> 
> Writer's block is still kicking my ass as far as TLA is concerned, but I am trying and some words have happened, as well as for some other stories. On a related note, please keep your eyes open for the Destined zine, a Klance soulmate zine! Preorders for that should be opening in August, and there's a ton of fantastic stories, pictures, and merch going into it, so please take a look!
> 
> In the meantime, please enjoy this short little Klance story inspired by littlecofieart's latest piece featuring their harpy!Lance.

Keith closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath before trying to drag himself upright against the rock. He only made it part way before the pain from his broken leg became unendurable and he crumpled again with a pained grunt.

He groaned, pressing his forearm against his forehead. That settled it. He was officially fucked.

He could practically hear Shiro's voice lecturing him about not going into the desert alone (which he had), taking extra supplies in case of emergencies (which he hadn't) and most of all not risking injury by climbing around on unstable slopes to look at inscriptions, especially if he failed to follow the two prior injunctions. Keith had heard the entire spiel so many times he could recite the whole thing from memory.

And despite that, here he was, sitting at the bottom of a cliff with a broken leg and a nearly empty canteen. Shiro was never going to let him live this down.

As he shaded his eyes to check the angle of the sun, he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye and turned.

Nothing but rocks.

He frowned, dismissing it as an illusion brought on by the heat haze, and turned his attention to his bag, pulling out his notebook with the intention of recording the inscriptions he'd been studying. Or at least, the parts he'd gotten a good look at before the ledge had crumbled.

Just as he set pen to paper, a shadow fell across his book. Instantly his head jerked up, just in time to catch something disappearing behind the scattered boulders several meters away. Keith stared at the rocks, eyeing the length of the shadows cast by them, stopping well short of his feet. Even standing on top of them, to make a shadow long enough to reach his lap...

Slowly, he closed his book and inserted it carefully back into his bag, not taking his eyes off the rocks. "Is someone there?" He called warily, curling his fingers around his knife instead.

There was a pause. A faint rustling. A flicker of blue-grey at the side of the rock that just as quickly vanished again.

Then a head popped out, and Keith's jaw dropped.

That was a human face, but no human had ever had hair that shade of blue, or a tracery of feathers across its cheeks in the same steely shade. And they certainly hadn't had a shoulder coated in sleek feathers, spreading downwards into an elegant wing, albeit one held nervously to their chest as they leaned around the edge of the rock.

"You're a  _ harpy _ ." Keith breathed, unable to tear his gaze from the magnificent, incredibly rare creature sidling nervously out from its--no, his--hiding place.

Apparently encouraged by the lack of hostility in Keith's response, the harpy came closer, hopping across the ground on birdlike feet and stopping just short of Keith's outstretched legs.

Belatedly, Keith's heart jerked in panic. Harpies ate human flesh, didn't they? He tightened his grip on the knife, reluctant to hurt the beautiful creature but determined to defend himself if he had to. Granted, even if he drove off the harpy he was still screwed, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

The harpy, though, instead of attacking, crouched. One wing outstretched carefully, brushing the spot where Keith's leg lay wrapped in a splint he'd improvised from his bag strap and a ruler, and the creature cocked his head and let out a chirp that sounded...concerned?

Keith bit his lip, weighing his chances. Harpies were man-eaters, supposedly, but they were also supposed to be smart. And if that were the case, maybe, just maybe, he wasn't so screwed after all.

"It's broken." He said carefully, gesturing to his leg and making a breaking motion with his hands. "I'm stuck here." He kicked his other leg lightly for emphasis.

To his amazement, the harpy's eyes widened and he let out another warbling chirp, this one sounding distinctly dismayed.

"My brother's looking for me, probably." Or at least, he would be when Keith didn't appear by a little after sunset, considering his propensity for staying out until it got too dark to see what he was doing. "But I'm almost out of water, and I don't know how long it'll take him to find me."

The harpy chirped again, hopping a bit closer as Keith pulled out his canteen and sloshed it, trying to ignore the way his mouth felt even dryer just hearing the liquid close by.

He was pulled from his distraction as the canteen was suddenly jerked from his hand. Keith yelped, looking up just in time to see the harpy beating skywards, Keith's canteen clutched in his talons. Within seconds the harpy was a mere speck, lost in the glare of the sun.

Keith gaped. "You...you...jerk!" He spluttered, trying and failing to come up with a better word. So much for potential help! Now he didn't even have his last few swallows of water!

Groaning, he slumped back against the rocks. Well, at least the damn thing hadn't eaten him. Time to resume contemplating his imminent death by exposure when the sun set.

He'd barely had time to start brainstorming ultimately useless escape plans, though, when a loud warble broke his train of thought. His eyes snapped back open to find the harpy was back, hovering over him. And dangling from his talons, in easy reach, was the stolen canteen. Numb with confusion, Keith reached up to grab it, and nearly dropped it when it was heavier than he expected. Fumbling with haste, he unscrewed the cap and peered inside.

Water. It was completely full of water.

For a moment all he could do was gape, then his gaze flicked back up to the harpy who was once more crouching by Keith's feet and smiling at him in a satisfied way. "You...you filled it." He murmured, awed. "That's...thank you."

The harpy rustled his wings and chirped cheerfully.

Keith let out a soft breath of relief and quickly downed several swallows, although he had to fight the temptation to down it all. He couldn't count on any further refills from his unexpected benefactor, so he needed to make it last as long as he could.

Thirst temporarily eased, he tucked the canteen away and took a moment to more thoroughly study the harpy. The creature looked surprisingly human in the areas not covered by feathers. Human enough, in fact, that Keith had to fight down a blush and firmly steer his gaze away from the exposed expanses of brown skin with only a small fan of blue feathers preserving human ideas of modesty.

"So, uh, you live around here?" He asked, coughing to try to steady his voice. The harpy chirped and nodded, rustling his wings again and crouching lower, apparently getting comfortable since Keith didn't need anything else. "I'm lucky you found me. I don't know what I would have done once I ran out of water."

Keith kept talking, telling the harpy whatever came to mind since the creature gave every appearance of listening attentively. He pulled out his notebook and started sketching the harpy as he told him about Shiro, about the ancient carvings that had drawn him to the cavern, about the messed-up childhood that had led to him hiding in a cave with a buffalo on the wall that had sparked a life-long interest. He had no way of knowing how much the harpy understood, but even a one-sided conversation helped keep his mind off the steady lowering of the sun as the shadows lengthened and the sky flared with colour high overhead.

Finally the sun disappeared, taking its heat with it. The rocks and sand retained some of it for a little while, but all too soon Keith was shivering in his thin shirt, hugging himself tightly and tucking in his good leg to try to preserve his own warmth as best he could. 

He'd forgotten how cold the desert got at night. If Shiro didn't find him soon...

A concerned chirp distracted him. The harpy had shifted closer again, a wing brushing his trembling shoulder.

"I'm c-cold." Keith explained through chattering teeth. "Humans aren't as well-suited for the desert nights as you are." The harpy didn't seem to be bothered by the cold despite all the bare skin, and Keith could feel the warmth of his wing even through the insulating feathers on the limb. An idle corner of his brain made note of the fact that harpies must run much hotter than humans did, not that he would probably live to share that knowledge.

Feathers rustled and then warmth brushed against him again. The harpy was leaning closer, wings half-spread as if to wrap them around him. But he hadn't quite closed the gap, head cocked. He chirped again, questioning.

Keith blinked, slow to understand as the cold turned him sluggish. When he did, he couldn't make his chattering mouth form a coherent response.

Instead, he settled for wrapping a hand lightly around the upper part of one wing, the feathers soft and pliant under his fingers, and giving a weak pull. That was all the encouragement the harpy needed, immediately curling around him as much as he could and making himself comfortable beside him on the rocks. His body heat soaked into Keith like a blanket, chasing away the chill of the night.

Sighing in pure relief, Keith settled in against the harpy, resting his head on a warm, feathered shoulder. "Thank you." He murmured, and received a soft chirp in his ear in response. Maybe he would make it through the night after all. If he did, he had to find someway to repay him.

Exhausted by pain and cold and soothed by the warmth of the harpy's body curled against his own, he must have dozed off, because the next thing he was aware of was a distant shout. "Keith! Where are you?!"

Keith scrabbled upright as the shout came again, slightly closer, and penetrated his sleepy brain. "Shiro! I'm here!" He shouted back.

"Keith!" The sound of footsteps scrabbling on stone and sand followed and a moment later Shiro appeared around the edge of the cliff, panting. "Keith! Oh thank god you're alright."

"For varying values of alright." Keith admitted sheepishly, straightening up as his brother reached him. "I, uh, kinda fell down the cliff and broke my leg."

Shiro let out an exasperated sigh and swiped his sweaty hair back out of his eyes. "Of course you did. When you weren't back by dinner I started getting worried, but when you weren't back by sunset..." He shook his head, crouching to examine the splinted limb in the morning light. "I thought I was going to find you frozen." He murmured, lifting his head to gaze at Keith with naked distress in his eyes.

Guilt pulled Keith's heart right down into his boots. "I'm sorry for scaring you." He whispered. "But I'm okay. Really. A harpy found me and kept me warm." Belatedly, he quickly looked around for his rescuer but found nothing but empty sand. Sometime during the night, the harpy had disappeared, and the breeze had shifted the sand to cover any tracks.

"A harpy?" Shiro's expression turned skeptical. "If you say so. But it was pretty hot out yesterday, and knowing you, you didn't have enough water."

"I didn't hallucinate it!" Keith protested. He gathered his breath for an argument, only to have it knocked out of him with a yelp as Shiro scooped him up into a bridal carry.

"Come on. Let's get you to a hospital and get you checked out, and then you can tell me all about your harpy." Shiro told him, giving Keith a moment to settle his bag against his stomach before setting off back down the canyon.

Indignant at the disbelief in his story, Keith sulked all the way back to where Shiro had left the car. By the time they reached it, though, he was glad to be able to just curl up in the backseat and be jostled at least somewhat less for the rest of the trip home.

As he settled, something clinked and sloshed in his bag, making Keith straighten up again. The canteen! That was his proof that he hadn't just imagined it! He scrabbled to open the bag and grab it to wave in his brother's face, then stopped.

Inside the bag, tucked neatly between the pages of his notebook where he had sketched the harpy, was a single beautiful blue feather.

Slowly, Keith settled back down, pulling the feather out and cradling it to his chest with a smile. So what if Shiro didn't believe him. As soon as his leg was healed, he'd be heading back out to the canyon.

The harpy--his harpy--was waiting for him.


End file.
